Apparatus for forming fibrous bellmouth tube ends



oct. 1o, 1933. H. PARKER 1,929,535

APPARATUS FOR FORMING FIBROUS BELL MOUTH TUBE ENDS Filed March 21, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l f A# a/wd @kk/f MLM/SWMMW@ Oct. 10, 1933.

H. PARKER APPARATUS FOR FORMING FIBROUS BELL MOUTH TUBE ENDS Filed March 21, 1930 W Fal 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 my ,WM

Oct. l0, 1933. PARKER 1,929,535

APPARATUS FOR FORMING FIBROUS BELL MOUTH TUBE ENDS Filed March 2l, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 inw/3%? M fha/Md @wlw n ,Wgr

Oct. 10, 1933. H PARKE-R A 1,929,535

APPARATUS FOR FORMING FlBROUS BELL MOUTH TUBE ENDS Filed Maron 21, 195o 4 Sheets-sheet 4 APatented Oct. 10, 1933 y Y APPARATUS Foa FoRMl/NG Fritons BELL- Y jl Mourir TUBEAENDSv .l

Howard Parker, Berlin, -N. H., assignor to Brown 'i gf Berlin, 'N. H.,` ai' corporation of Company, Maine Appiicajtonwimh 21, 193041 seria-'1 No. 437,6;52` e VThis invention relates yto apparatus forufoini-v ing the ends of fibrous tubingA into kbell mouth shape.k The use of fibroustubing vby telephone `companies and otherusers" of signall wires and the lilrein layingl underground conduitv to contain wires has rapidlygrown'in recent years. In

order to provide access to the wiresY for changes and repairs', it is customary to interrupt the conduits at intervals by manholes into ywhichthe conduits open and through which the wires pass.r

Since in such manholes the entering wires are usually bent to 4'follow the wal-l surface, Ain the pressing l pulp .intoV manhole so as to leave room in the holeiorfa workman, it is desirable that they endsof, the several conduits at the manholes be widened out sired shape.k Where fiber conduit is used, however, the problem of forming bell mouthends 1s more diiicult, since the strength of a fiber `ar-` ticle dependsla'rgely ron the method of:*fo'rn'iing it, owing to the fact that the strength v'of such an article arises chiey fromv the thoroughness with which the fibers are interfelted. If, for example, brous tubing be lmade by winding a'wet A,web of pulp on itself en amandrel,. underpressure, theV resulting tub'e,v ifVK properly dried, has

comparatively great vstrength owing to the "effcient interfelting ofthe fibers caused by pressing the wet layers together prior to drying. The 'mechanical strength of such tube is far in excess of thatof a tube of similar dimensions made by I a mold.- lInorder t`o retain thestrength of the fibrous tubingvmade as yde scribed by winding 4afwetweb on yitself'under i pressure, the bell mouth embodying thepresent e invention preferably made "from suchtubing, the ends of a tube section being slit and rspread to increase the diameter, fiber gussets being inf serted inthe openings'to complete the structure.V

According to the invention such a structure isy vpreferably Aassen'ibled while thev materials vare thoroughly wet; and the assembled Structure is)v thereupon subjected yto high pressurelwhichV not only gives it its iinished shape, but also interfelts the separate parts" into awe'll knitted unit. Apparatus .for convenientlyjand eiiiciently applying such' shapingpressure'to thejpulp structure is 'hereinafterdescrilrudV in detailg For a more `complete understanding lof 'the invention, reference is had' to the disclosure thereof in the Afollowing description and on the drawings, of which,-

Figure 1*is a sidejelevation of Vmechanism for v pressing the ibrous bell mouth into shape.

Figure 2 isa plan view of the same. Figure 3 is a side levation `of aportion of the mechanism shownin Figure 1, the parts being shown in ak different position of operation.

-2;"th" section beingl taken onl v used inthe apparatus;

. vcomprise an inner 4 preferably Figui-e4 is a sectionon'thelinefi-iii of Figure Y a considerably largerscale. Figure 5 is a" fragmentary section similarto Figure' 4 showingthefparts in al different position v of operation. f f f i y rFigure G 'is asection on the line 6-6 of Figure 1'. Y1f L v rFigure 7 is a Vperspectiveviezwofl acloth bag Y Y' 'Z0 Figure`8 'is 'an elevation' of aV section of ber tubing with its end portions slotted,

lFigure 9 is' an end yiewjof `the same. f

Figure 10 is" an elevationof 'a splitl tube section with theve'nd elementsfbent outwardly; 1 Figure 1'1is anffend elevation of theV same.l

Figure 12iis a section of the tubewallshowing howthe edgesof theend elements'and thegussets" maybe worked'together. f 'l FigureV 13 isasection'al view cfa bellmouth as it vcomes fromy the press. Tl "v n A' Figure 14 is :a similar v iewof -a bell mouth aft'erbze'ingstooled to its final shape. f j.Referringfeto- Figures 4 and j 5,`the`press'may Y u bell-shaped mold 320 Awhich is 85 'provided witha.large number of surface channels 21 and perforations 210therethro'ugh' forwY moisture which maybe pressed from'the bers.

Closelyfitted'on the mold 201s afcoveringl of 'fine wire screen 211. AThe mold is suitably mounted o na hollow standard 22', within which isa drain l pipe23fadaptfed to' leadlaway thev water pressed fromthe liber bell mouth. A heavy cap `24 is l adapted to beA lowered overthe bell-shaped mold 2Qso as to press the pulp'bell mouth against the mold, Io this end the cap 2 4 is provided with an 'elastic lining 25 of rubber or the like, this lining being securely fastened at its upper and `lower ends tothe cap so Yas-to formY a water-tight receptaclebetweenit and the side wall'of theA Vcap '100 24. Water o rvother fluid under pressurel may be introducedbetween the" sidewall or the caplv 24 andthefelastic lining orbag '25 as by a pipe26 shown in Figure, 2. The bag 25 is thereupon forcedinwardly by `fluid pressure. The bag 251s '105 made' with a normal shape to fit lagainst the vber.bell-mouth' tobe pressed, as indicated by dottedvlines in Figures 4 and 5. lFrom l, this position it is stretched by suction tothe posi- HO tion vindicated in solid Llines in Figures 4 and 5 vto permit the y placing ofv the sapin operative position. This greatly extends the life of the bag by having the pressure thereinapplied when it is inits natural undistorted shape. A cloth or rub- ,1 15

'ber bag'27'-is preferably. Aprovided to tover the screen cover 211 of the bell-shaped mold-20, to prevent the pressed iiber'from' clinging to the screen 211. Thelower end of this bag may be held place, as by a suitable ring 28 which is 120' shaped to lit against the lower portion of the mold 20.

rlhe standard 22 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 29 on which is slidably fitted a ring 30 having cam lugs 31 on the lower face thereof. The cap 24 is provided with downwardly extending clamp members 32 having inwardly extending catches 33 adapted to pass below the ring 3G through recesses 34 in the outer periphery thereof. When the cap 24 is seated in' place against the shaping outer face of the ring 28, rotation of the ring 30 on the flange 29 brings the cam lugs 31 into wedging engagement with the inturned elements 33 so as to draw the cap 24 downwardly against a slight compression of a resilient pad 330 which engages the top of the mold 20. A pair of suitable handles 331 may be mounted on the ring 30 to facilitate the firm clamping of the cap 24 on its seat. When the cams 31 are moved out of engagement with the catches 33, the pad 330 assists in moving the cap 24 clear of its wedging engagement with the ring 28. Extending loosely through the ange 29 are a number of pins 35 which are vertically slidable therein. The upper ends of these pins rest against the under side of the ring 28, the lower ends of the pins resting on a ring 36 which slides about the support 22, the upper edgeof the ring 36 being provided with cam surfaces 37 on which the lower ends of the pins 35 ride. Thus when the ring 36 is rotated in one direction as by a handle 360, the pins 35, riding on the cam faces 37, are forced upwardly so as to raise the ring 28. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the ring 28 is positioned around the lower portion of the bell shaped inoid in such a way as to receive the lower end of the ber bell-mouth which is to be pressed. When the pins 35 push the ring 28 upwardly, this, in turn, .raises the bell-mouth after it has been pressed so that it is clear'. of the mold and is Yready to be lifted outof the press As shown in Figures l and 2, the cap 24 may be suspended by a cable 40, on the other end of which is a counter-weight 41 to facilitate the raising and lowering of the cap 24 which is somewhat heavy in sructure. The cable may pass over a convenient pair of sheaves 42 which are carried by a suitable standard 43. A guide 44 may be secured to the cap 24 to engage loosely the sides of. the standard43 so as to prevent the cap from swinging around.

up with the recesses 34 of the ring 30 when the latter is in its position to receive the clamp members 32. a Y l In forming a bell-mouth according to the invention, a short length offiber tube 5Dris thor'- oughly soaked in water. The end of this section is slit longitudinally at 51, these slits being preferably uniformly spaced around the circumference of the tube. The tube may be split either before or after soaking. The cap 24 is elevated as shown in Figure 3 and the screen 211 ofthe bell mold 20 is covered with a cloth bag 27. The soaked and split tube section is then forced downwardly over the bell mold 20, thus causing the split end portions 52 to be spread outwardly as shown in Figure 10, leaving triangular. openings between the successive spread out elements.v The side edges of these elements 52 are preferably vsaturation with waterproof materials.

This guide keeps the, Vclarnp members 32 of the cap 24 suitably lined bent outwardly slightly by the fingers of the operator and suitable triangular gussets or wedges 54 of thoroughly soaked pulp, which'm'ay be made by cutting up tubes, may be inserted in the triangular openings between the elements 52. The edges of these wedges may also be bent up prior to such insertion, as indicated at 55 in Figure 12. After the wedges have been inserted in place, the abutting edges may then be pressed down iiush by the operator, loose wet pulp being pressed into any openingsv or depressions in the bell-mouth, this action taking but a very brief time. This serves to knit together the edgesaof the elements 52 and the wedges 54 so that interfelting of the fibers of these elements is promoted. The cap 24 is thereupon lowered until the inwardly projecting ends 33 of the clamp 32 are below the ring 30. This ring is thereupon rotated on the fiange `29 causing the carn `faces31 to engage the elements 33 andr to draw the cap 24 tightly into place. Pressure is thereupon introduced between the side wall of the cap 24 and the inner bag or lining 25 through the pipe 26. This forces the fiexible bag 25 tightly against the bell-mouth and presses the bell-rnouth into shape. After a suitable interval tne pressure is relieved and the fluid is drained from the bag, whereupon the ring 30 is rotated io release the clamping elements 32. The cap 24 is thereupon raised andthe ring 36 is rotated to force the pins 35 and the ring 28 upwardly and thus to raise the compressed bellmouth with the cap 2'7,clear of the mold 20. The cap is then readily removed and the bell-mouthV is ready io be dried and further treated as by I claim:

vl. Apparatus of the class described comprising a support, a bell-shaped mold on said support, a rigid cap adapted to surround said mold and iit tightly against the base thereof, said cap having its sidewalls spaced from the mold to form a chamber, a resilient pad within'the top of the cap adapted to engage the top `of said mold when said vcap is in place over said mold, a collapsible water-tight bagA within said chamber adapted to be i expanded toward said mold, and means for clamp,- ing said cap in place over said mold so as to cornpress said resilient pad. Y

2. Apparatus for pressing a fibrous bell-mouth,V

which comprises a bell-shaped mold having perfoil;

rations'in the sides thereof, a wire screen cover closely fitted over the sides of said mold, a flexible Y fabric cover fitted over said screen, a removable ring fitted on said mold at its base andy adapted t'o clamp said screen v and fabric covers to Vthe base of said mold, a rigid cap adapted to surround said mold with its side walls spaced therefrom to form a chamber, the lower portionV of said cap being tted to the outer face of said ring, a rubber bag carried within said cap and adapted to be colj lapsed outwardly against the sides of the cap, a resilient pad carried within the top-,of said cap and adapted to press against the top of said mold when said cap is in place over said mold, means for expanding said rubber bag to press resiliently against a bell-mouth mounted on said mold,`

means for lifting said cap clear 4of said I nold, and means for raising said ring from the base of the mold. f

HOWARDPARKER. Y. 

